The move from London to his family's estate in Hampshire gives Arthur Wellesley and his wife, Jemma Kidd, the opportunity to imbue an 18th-century English country house with their own youthful energy

Exterior

Exterior

Jemma Kidd still recalls the moment she decided it was time to quit London and move to the country. Four years ago, soon after the birth of her twins, Mae and Darcy, she was pushing their stroller down a street in her Notting Hill neighborhood when it hit her: "There were gas fumes, rubbish on the pavement, and people everywhere," she remembers. "I just said, 'That's it, I'm not going to bring my kids up here.' "

An allée of pleached lime trees leads to the entrance of Jemma Kidd and Arthur Wellesley's 18th-century home in Hampshire, England, which was decorated by Penny Morrison.

Darcy and Mae

Darcy and Mae

She and her husband, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, had already been spending weekends at his family's country estate in Hampshire and had been offered the opportunity to take over a house on the property known as the Old Rectory. "It was the perfect transition," says Kidd, a former model who is now a makeup artist. "We were totally ready."